A brilliant defensive play and some questionable officiating proved costly to the Vikings as Sacramento City narrowly escaped with the 7-6 victory at an April 13 game hosted by DVC.

DVC had an opportunity to win in the bottom of the 9th inning.

With a runner on, two outs, and trailing by just one run, sophomore catcher Chuck Cavestany stepped in to the batter’s box and belted the ball to deep right-center field, bringing the crowd to its feet.

The ball looked as if it would clear the fence, but Sacramento City’s outfielder made a well-timed leaping catch at the wall to end the game.

“It was a sloppy game overall,” head coach Mike Neu said later, referring to the four errors committed by both sides. “We didn’t take advantage of opportunities and that cost us.”

With the loss, DVC falls to 18-11 on the season and 9-5 in the Big 8 conference, trailing only Sacramento City in the Big 8 standings.

This game was a constant back-and-forth battle from the very first inning, as neither team seemed to be able to take control.

Doubles by second-basemen Josh Nuyten and outfielder Mitch Petrak helped DVC get off to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Sacramento City responded by getting four runs off of DVC starting pitcher Harmen Sidhu in the second.

Both teams would retake the lead once before coming to a tie in the sixth.

Controversy arose in the 7th inning when it appeared that Sacramento City’s third-basemen didn’t tag the base before turning an inning-ending double play. Yet the umpire still awarded him the out, costing DVC the go-ahead run.

Coach Neu came on to the field to make his case to the man in blue, but the umpire wouldn’t budge. Cooler heads prevailed, and Neu returned to the dugout.

Another questionable call occurred in the 8th inning when an umpire called a balk on relief pitcher Justin Harr. The umpire ruled Harr had not come to a complete stop after going from the stretch to the set position.

A “balk,” is when the pitcher makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch and fails to make such delivery, or when the pitcher delivers the pitch from set position without coming to a stop, according to MLB rules.

Harr said he didn’t agree with the call, adding, “I didn’t think I balked.”

DVC’s next home game was against Sierra April 20, too late for The Inquirer’s press deadline.

Contact Josh Fathollahi at [email protected]